BikinginLA

One quick note before we get started.

I’ve been a little under the weather lately, so today I finally got out for my first good ride in a couple of weeks.

And proceeded to get buzzed by two cyclists in two separate incidents — one male and one female — each one passing just an inch or two from my shoulder.

Maybe I should be impressed by their skill in somehow managing to just miss me as closely as possible; instead, I was awed by their overwhelming jerkishness and willingness to risk a total stranger’s safety.

So let’s make one thing clear.

Whenever you pass another rider on a city street or bike path, call it out to avoid startling them and causing a bike-on-bike collision. A simple “On your left” or “Passing left” can make all the difference.

And don’t pass on the right. Just don’t.

If you can’t give another rider at least an arms-length passing distance — if not the three feet you’d expect from a motorist — then don’t pass, dammit.

You can wait a few seconds until it’s safe to pass, just like drivers can.

………

Ghost bike for Phillip O’Neill; respectfully borrowed from Ghost Bikes-LA.

A source who prefers to be anonymous reports on the recent arraignment of the driver charged with taking the life of cyclist Phillip O’Neill in Pasadena last year.

According to her report, the motorist, who wasn’t named, did not appear; his lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for him and a pretrial date was set for this month, However, the prosecutor is expecting the defendant to plead out.

On the other hand, the prosecutor said he’d never seen so many people show up to support the victim at an arraignment.

……….

The authors of Where to Bike Los Angeles are joining with the LACBC for their monthly bike tour of the LA area, this time through the Palos Verdes area.

And they’re expecting more perfect weather for the ride, so don’t rub it in when you talk to your friends in other parts of the country.

The Donut

When: Saturday, March 15, 2014

Time: Meet at 8:30am; ride at 9:00am

Where: Wilmington Waterfront Park

Drive south on the 110 Freeway to the C Street exit in Wilmington. Then, continue east a short distance to the Park. We will meet at the small parking lot at the Park’s east end off Lagoon Avenue. Here’s the to map the Park: Wilmington Waterfront Park

This is a San Pedro version of the classic “Donut” tour around the Palos Verdes Peninsula. We’ll start (and finish) with an easy warm-up (and cool down) through the port city of San Pedro where we will see everything nautical (tankers, container ships, old battleships, merchant vessels, cruise ships, lighthouses, seagulls). Then, we’ll ride into PV proper and tackle the famous switchbacks (the one big climb of the day). From there we’ll continue around to Malaga Cove (rest stop), Point Vicente, Abalone Cove, and Fort McArthur. We should have many wonderful vistas of the South Bay, Catalina and the Port of Los Angeles as we ride back to San Pedro and Wilmington.

Ride Length:  43 miles.

Ride Duration:  Approximately 5-6 hours, including stops.

Difficulty:  Recommended for intermediate-level riders, aged 16 and up. Expect a mix of city and rural riding conditions—busy bike paths and city streets from the start to the switchbacks, then bike lanes and quieter roads circling the peninsula. We’ll tackle one climb at the beginning, then mostly rolling terrain, for total elevation gain of roughly 2,500 feet.

Rain Policy:  Torrential rain, snow, earthquake or fierce wind cancels the outing. Otherwise, we ride.

What to bring:  A road-worthy bike, extra inner tubes, a patch kit and pump, drinking water, a pocket snack (such as an energy bar, banana or trail mix), a helmet and money for refueling stops and post-ride refreshments.

Parking:  There’s plenty of street parking around Wilmington Waterfront Park

RSVP:   Strongly encouraged, via wheretobikela@gmail.com, so we can send you last-minute advisories, particularly about weather.

Touring Los Angeles County with LACBC and Where To Bike Los Angeles is a series of rides that are free and open to every LACBC member, plus one guest.

……….

People for Bikes selects six new cities for their second Green Lane Project; needless to say, LA ain’t one of them. I wonder if the recent lack of support for bike lanes from a handful of city council members had any anything to do with our non-selection.

On the other hand, Santa Monica is installing new green lanes on Broadway and Main.

The Daily News talks to Damien Kevitt about his plans to Finish the Ride that cost him a leg in a still unsolved hit-and-run last year.

The Weekly goes on the off and then unexpectedly back on Marathon Crash Ride, but fails to obey the rules, unlike the less aggressive rider representing Streetsblog.

A Bakersfield rider gets pinned between two cars by a suspected stoned driver; fortunately, the cyclist only suffered moderate injuries.

Baseball legend Barry Bonds is one of us, even if the writer can’t resist the usual steroid/doping comparisons.

The Supreme Court throws an unexpected wrench into the Rails to Trails movement; the family bringing the suit would rather have a train on their land than a bunch of us nasty bike riders.

Consider it a Mood Ring for your head. A new helmet tracks your stress levels and transmits them to your iPhone. Because it’s so hard to know when your stressed while riding your bike, right?

Finding an alternate path to equity for women’s cycling.

A nine-foot travel lane costs less than a 12-foot lane, and can make everything better.

Bike tourism goes to the next level as Oregon builds a network of Overnight Bike Pods.

The New York Times offers a number of gadgets to improve bike safety, and correctly notes the most common mistake new riders make is not riding predictably. Which means riding in a straight line, with traffic, signaling and obeying the right-of-way; now that’s not so hard, is it?

Virginia legislators vote to keep it legal to tailgate bicyclists. After all, what harm could possibly come from that?

The World Naked Bike Ride pops up in Peru; evidently, Peruvians are growers not show-ers.

London plans a network of bicycle Quietways to shift riders onto underutilized side streets. Can’t call them Quietways here because this city is seldom silent.

Don’t piss off this 91-year old Baroness, or she’ll whack you with her handbag — then re-enact it for the cameras.

Finally, in LA we dodge cars; in Florida, golf balls.